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Mayor Slay Gets Dirty in Brightside’s Butterfly Garden
Mayor Slay Gets Dirty in Brightside’s Butterfly Garden
The setting could not have been more perfect for Mayor Francis G. Slay to reveal a new City sustainability initiative, Milkweeds for Monarchs. On Earth Day, with Brightside’s purple coneflowers and giant Monarch gleaming in the background, Mayor Slay, along with representatives from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis Zoo, and Missouri Department of Conservation announced the City’s goal to “increase the dwindling Monarch butterfly population and better connect people with nature.”
The initiative spurred from alarming reports that the Monarch butterfly population has been declining rapidly and that one of the leading causes is loss of habitat. Milkweed is an essential part of the Monarch lifecycle because the caterpillars feed on it in order to grow. Without milkweed, the caterpillars cannot survive. As part of the initiative, Mayor Slay has committed the City to plant 50 Monarch gardens, and is challenging St. Louisians to plant an additional 200 in honor of the City’s 250th anniversary.
Brightside St. Louis was honored to have milkweed planted in our Butterfly Garden by Mayor Slay, Jim Miller (Senior Vice President, Science & Conservation, Missouri Botanical Garden), Edward Spevak (Curator of Invertebrates, Saint Louis Zoo), and Tracy Boaz (Regional Supervisor, Private Land Services Division, MO Department of Conservation). It was the perfect way to spend Earth Day. Learn more about Milkweeds for Monarchs and how you can plant your own butterfly garden.